A Roman's Heart
by Valerius Verrens
Summary: Hiccup is a tribune of the Roman army who is stationed in Britannia. He hates the Britons and they hate the Romans. But soon he will meet a Blonde Celtic woman who will turn his whole world on its head. What will happen and will Hiccup find his destiny? A Roman Era AU with Hiccstrid, Rated M for violence and lemon in later parts.
1. The First Battle

**Hey guys this is my first story, so I am a bit nervous..**

 **I am a big fan of HTTYD and the Gaius Valerius Verrens book series (set in the Roman era) from Douglas Jackson. So what I basically did was to mix those two universes up. I took the characters from HTTYD and put them in the universe of Verrens.**

 **This story will be loosely based the book "Hero of Rome", the first book of the series. That's why there will be some historically names for things, people and locations. I will put a glossary at the end of each chapter and explain in it all Latin words and meanings. I also changed some of the names to something more latin, but their nicknames will be the same. Sorry for that inconvenience but I want to stay as much historically correct as possible. The Story will be rated M for violence and possible lemon later on.**

 **So I hope you will enjoy it and keep me updated in which way I could improve my way of writing. Oh and English isn't my first language, so sorry for bad English I guess.**

 **And before I forget, I don't own How to train your dragon nor the Gaius Valerius Verrens series. Have**

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Hiccup was only on this island for six weeks and he hated it already. He hated its rainy weather, its dark and thick forests, its rocky coasts, but what he hated the most was its people. Those Britons were a real pain in the ass for him and his _century_.

This was the second tribe which rebelled this month against the roman rule and it was the second time this month he and his _cohort_ were sent in to punish them. "Fucking barbarians" he thought and made himself ready for another charge of the horde standing before him. He was starring over the edge of his shield at the axe wielding bulks of meat and muscles. Then they charged.

Hiccup prepared himself by pushing the sole of his left food in the ground, taking a near crouching stand and holding his shield before him. He looked to the right and left of him and saw the stern faces of his fellow Legionaries which had taken a similar stand. They formed a shield wall which blocked the whole street. Hiccup stole a short glance at the buildings which were flanking the soldiers on both sides. They were huts of medium and short height which were made out of mud, wood and straw, typical barbarian buildings. The Legionaries behind the first line were preparing themselves to jump in gaps, or to change positions with men in the first rank that will be wounded, exhausted or in the worst case dead. Hiccup was satisfied to see that every one of his men seemed to know what to do, so he shouted to them "Brace yourself men, we will show those barbarians the meaning of valour!"

The mass of hair, moustaches, axes, swords, other pointy things, limbs and angry faces was coming closer and closer. Hiccup could now make out little details on them, like sweat drops running down foreheads, missing chains in chainmail's which were scavenged from dead Legionaries or _auxiliary units_ , veins which were pulsating on throats and spit which flew out of the mouths of angry shouting men. The horde was now only five meters away, Hiccup then was locking his eyes on the Celt directly approaching him.

He was a hulk of a man, meaty arms and muscles, brought shoulders, a white coloured moustache, white coloured hair, painted all over his body were symbols and images in a blue colour and the worst of all, he was completely naked. Those were the things Hiccup didn't understand, why the hell would they charge naked in to battle, were they crazy? Or even worse were they protected by some sort of black wizardry from one of those druids he heard about? The Celt was wielding a big great sword and held it high over his head while charging at him.

Now only two meters away, Hiccup put the whistle, which he used to give a signal to change the ranks, in his mouth and made a last glance to the right and left to be sure his men were ready.

Just as the white haired Celt was only half a meter away Hiccup pushed his shield with his left arm and shoulder in the vague direction of the attackers head. Then he heard a rewarding crack as the hard wood hit the attacker directly on the nose. The Celt dropped with smack to the ground and didn't move, he either was knocked out or dead Hiccup didn't really care. He quickly got back in line and got his shield up once again.

He saw that the Legionary Titus Tullius Thorstus to his immediate right was being attacked by three barbarians at once and slowly losing ground to them. So he stabbed the closest of the three into the rib cache, the Celt screamed in pain and dropped his weapons to hold his gashing wound. But before he could reach it with his hand a _Pilum_ , thrown from the rear roman ranks, hit him in the throat and he dropped flat on his back gasping for air.

Hiccup snapped over his shoulder only to see the grinning face of Legionary Fabianus Flavius Fisclegtus with a wide grin on his face. Hiccup made a notice in his head to thank him later and give him an extra pay for this week. Then he saw a blade launched at his face, Hiccup throw his head back and avoided the worst of the blow, the incoming blade only scratched the skin on his chin. He launched his shield upwards and knocked the sword out of the attacking hand. He proceeded by slashing at the now retreating arm with his blade and hit it hard. He heard a scream of pain and grinned satisfied. The arm was nearly cut in half, only held together by a narrow string of skin and muscle tissue. The Celt to whom the now destroyed arm belonged starred just in shock, but he was then hit in the guts by another roman sword and fell dead before the roman line. Hiccup then blew his whistle and the whole front row, expect of him, run through the ranks back to the end of the roman formation, simultaneously the second row made a pace forward to take the front position. That's how the romans always kept fresh troops in the front.

The stabbing and slashing went on and on for a good 20 minutes, more Celts joined their fellow brothers lying dead or wounded on the ground. Then a horn was heard, Hiccup distinguished it as a roman signaller trumpet, and a formation of _auxiliar_ soldiers stormed from behind some houses into the back of the Celts. Being pinned between two blocks of steel and muscle the Celts were quickly dying now. As the last man was dead they could hear the trumpets signalling that the battle was won, every single soldier began to cheer and patting each other on the backs.

After the slave-taking and looting, of the barbarian fort, were over the _century_ of Hiccup began their walk back to the roman encampment. In the encampment while walking to his tent Hiccup was greeted by the now grinning Legion's blacksmith, which all only knew as Gobber "Hi there Legate, nice dent you have in your _scutum"_ Hiccup looked down and saw the steel plate in the middle of his shield severely dented, exactly there where he hit the white haired one. "Yeah those Britons have heads made out of stone" he laughed back. Gobber only chuckled and said "You like to really test your equipment don't you, oh before I forget there was a letter for you, I took the liberty and put it in your tent.". Hiccup then said his thanks and goodbyes to him and continued his walk to the tent.

As he arrived in his tent Hiccup took of his armour and equipment, he proceeded then to wash the dirt and blood of himself and his equipment. As he was finished he touched the scratch on his chin to control the extent of his injurie. It was only a scratch thus he ignored it and went to his bed, where a scroll was lying on the blanket.

He took it and opened it and began to read.

"Dear Son

I hope all is going on well in Britannia for you, I heard there is a lot of civil unrest going on at the moment. Nonetheless I hope you'll having a useful experience there which you could use later in your years as the head of our family in Rome.

As you know you're 20 years old now the perfect age for marriage, I've already a good bride in mind. The daughter of Sextus Olivianus Aulus, Heatheratia to be exact. I think you remember her from all the times we were invited to feasts at her father's house.

But the true reason I wrote you is to tell you all the happenings in the Senat, so to begin with…" Hiccup just over flew those lines because he wasn't really interested in them, he never wanted to go into politics but his father had other plans for him. Then he arrived at the bottom of the scroll and read.

"I wish you could look with your soldiers work

Sincerely your Father

Sextilius Stoicklus Hadrianus."

Hiccup swallowed hard, marriage with Heatheratia? The one who made fun and bullied him for his little physic during their childhood? How could this get even worse? Not that his father could actually force him to marry, but he always know how to get what he wanted. The only way out of this was to marry someone else first. But whom? He was on this gods forsaken Island and he didn't know any women apart from the servant girls and daughters from the friends of his father, which he all didn't like, at home. He had only six more months left before he had to go back "My last six months of freedom" he muttered to himself while lying on the bed and thinking about his situation.

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 **I hope you enjoyed it and please tell me your sincere opinion as a review. I am still learning so please be not too harsh on me.**

 **Glossary:**

 **Auxiliary Units – Units made up from soldiers from around the Empire who were not roman citizens (Helvetians, Thracians etc.).**

 **Century – A unit of a roman Legion, numbering 80 men.**

 **Gladius – The short sword used by all roman soldiers**

 **Legate –The general of a Legion.**

 **Legion – A roman unit numbering around 5,000 men. All soldiers of it are roman citizens**

 **Pilum – A heavy attack javelin used by the romans.**

 **Tribune – A roman officer, six of them would serve in each Legion and would receive their orders directly from the legate.**

 **Scutum – The big shield used by the Legionaries.**


	2. The Mission

**Here is my second chapter for my story. It is a bit longer than the last one, but I think that isn't any problem for you guys.**

 **Karate Koala, sure I would recommend them 100%. But be warned they're very violent and filled with brutality and other nasty things.**

 **InsertACreativeNameHere, yeah those typos are just the worst, I checked the story four times but some will always slip through. About the naked guy, I just thought that it would be a funny and surreal situation if the attacker was naked, even if it wasn't historical accurate.**

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Hiccup was thinking hard about what he could have done wrong. It was very unusual to be summoned into the tent of the highest officer in the Legion at around 4 o'clock in the morning. He was walking fast through the narrow corridors between the eight man tents, in which the Legionaries of the 14th were sleeping their well-deserved sleep of the victors.

At the end of the corridor he saw a clearing in which a big tent stood the tent of the Legate. As he was walking towards the entrance he quickly straighten his whole uniform and armour. The _Legate_ was known to be a man who wouldn't overlook the tiniest errors. He was also known to give latrine duty to every offender of the uniform code. Hiccup gave the two guards standing at the entrance a quick nod and entered the tent.

The tent was very dim illuminated, only a few oil lamps were light and were hung from the ceiling. In the middle of the tent stood a big table with many maps, scrolls and other papers. Hiccup guessed that those would be the new orders send directly from Rome through _Londinium_.

He stood a few seconds at the entrance and he made two steps into the room and smashed his right hand fist onto his chest.

"Sir! You wanted to see me."

The _Legate_ looked up from the maps and made a motion with his hand to come closer.

"I heard you did well in the last battle Tribune Herminius."

Hiccup blinked at that comment, he was not used to hear the Legate say compliments.

"That can surely be not the reason why you summoned me sir."

The Legate kept his stern face and shook his head lightly

"No it wasn't. To be straight to the point, we got new orders from Rome."

He pointed in the vague direction of a few scrolls lying on the table.

"One of them is to secure a remote town located on the Road which connects the lands of the _cornovii_ and _Londinium"_

The _Legate_ and Hiccup were now bent over a big and detailed map of southern Britannia. He showed Hiccup the positions of the two locations. After that he moved his index finger along a black line which ran from the South eastern coast to the North West of the map.

"It is one of our most important reinforcing and supply roads. That's why we have to send some troops to secure this main trade centre."

He was pointing to a drawing of a little town on the map. Next to the little town was written _Manduessedum_ in very tiny letters. The town was located to the very North of the long black line which represented the road. "I have decided that you and the third _Cohort_ will undertake this task. You will be accompanied by a little auxiliary force of 50 Thracian horsemen, 250 Helvetian infantry and around 80 Cretan archers. You'll be meeting their commanders on the way there. Your main tasks will be to reinforce and train the town's militia, scout the surrounding lands. We have also Intel that a druid is instigating the people against the rule of Rome. Find him and deal with him appropriately. But don't expect too much help from the militia, they consist probably just of olds, drunks, thieves and other town scum." Hiccup only blinked at this flood of information and looked questioning at the map and then at the _Legate_. "What are you still doing here? Go wake your _Cohort_ and get a move on _Tribune_!" The Legate focused his gaze once again upon the scrolls and papers on the table. Hiccup stood there for two seconds then he saluted, turned and rushed out of the tent.

He was now jogging to the tent of Caelius, the Centurion of the third _Cohort_ and a good friend of him.

"What did I do wrong to be punished by the gods like this?"

He asked himself while running.

"Only the gods know for how long I will be stu…"

And then it hit him, maybe just maybe this assignment would take longer than six months. So he would have more time before returning to his home in Rome and he could enjoy his freedom from Heatheratia a bit longer.

He had already given up the thought of meeting a girl who liked him enough to marry him. So the only future in Rome for him he saw was to marry Heatheratia, even if all members of both families (except of his father) knew that the marriage won't be based on love. Heatheratia's sides secretly hoped to expand their political power in the Senate with this union.

"I mean who could be desperate enough to marry me?"

He mumbled to himself, while entering Caelius's tent to wake him up.

Two hours passed and the whole cohort was standing in full marching gear before Hiccup.

"Men we had the honour to be chosen for a very vital mission. We are to protect a small Town of innocent Roman souls against the wrath of the barbarians. The last years they didn't have anything to protect them. We will change that, and show the Celts that Rome never forgets it citizens even if they're living in the very far corners of the empire. Now get in marching formation, we move out!"

He mounted his black horse and went to the very front of the column, Caelius joined him there. Caelius gave the signal and the whole _Cohort_ moved out.

"It will take us around four days to reach the Town. I just hope the new recruits will be able to keep the pace."

Caelius stated while riding next to Hiccup.

"I don't think that they will have too much problems, they were trained the last weeks to go to their limits and push themselves. But if they fall behind we won't slow down for them, we can't afford to lose time."

Hiccup replied. Caelius just nodded. They made sure every _Decurion_ informed his century about their destination, so both of them knew that even if one of the soldiers lagged behind he could easily follow the road to the next guard tower or town. From there he could get directions to _Manduessedum_ and arrive on his own.

Hiccup looked back over his shoulder and his glance fell upon all the faces. He recognized new and old ones. Many were men he already served with in Hispania. But there were also new faces he didn't know. But something all these faces had in common was the determination in their eyes, the determination to fulfil the task at all cost. It was this readiness to give everything, even their life, to the mission which made the 14th so dangerous.

He looked back on the road before him and began to discuss with Caelius the exact details of the mission.

* * *

Astrid was angry.

"Fucking Romans!"

She hissed through her teeth. Astrid was standing in the main plaza of her village and glared at the two Roman Militia men who stood laughing in the middle of the plaza. Before them kneeling on the ground was Astrid's bigger sister Feidlimid. She was picking up apples from the ground and put them in a basket, which stood next to her. The Romans were laughing at her sister, they kicked some of the apples across the square and began to walk away still laughing.

Astrid went to her sister and helped her to collect the fruits scattered on the ground.

"What happened?" she asked Feidlimid.

"I wanted to go to the market but bumped into a Roman and he just pushed the basket out of my hands and everything spilled out of it." She said with a low and trembling voice.

"Why do we let them treat us like that? What have we done to them, it was them who invaded and took our lands!" Astrid stated in anger.

"Well there is nothing we can do about it. They won and we have to live with that now."

"How can you not be angry at them? They killed our parents and burned our home village!" Astrid was nearly screaming, luckily the Romans nearby only understood Latin. So they didn't really care nor understand what this young woman was screaming about.

"I know! Do you really think there is not a day I don't cry about it?! But what should we do? We are only two girls who can barely earn enough to survive! Do you think this is what I wanted? Is this how you thank me for caring, protecting and loving you for the last twelve years?" Her sister screamed at here. Feidlimid's face was red of anger and tears frustration and grieve began to run down her cheek.

Astrid knew she went too far, tears of her own began to form in her eyes. She was always the more short-tempered of the two, but that was no excuse to snub at her sister.

"I'm sorry" She said and already felt ashamed of herself.

Her sister sighed and took Astrid in an embrace. Feidlimid laid her head onto Astrid's and held her tight.

"I'm sorry too; I just snapped the whole pressure is simply too much for me."

Astrid could feel tears dropping onto her hair and they just stood like that for a few more moments.

* * *

The one thing the Romans very definitely the best at, was marching. A Legion could march on a good day up to 30 Kilometres, provided the roads were in good condition. Since the army reforms of Marius every soldier had to carry his equipment and weapons on his own. Hence they were called Marius mules. A nickname they wore with pride.

But there was one thing Romans especially Legionaries didn't like and that were forests. Every soldier knew the story of the three Legions which were betrayed by a friend of Rome and annihilated somewhere in a forest in Germania. And because of some twisted spiel of the gods, most of the road to _Manduessedum_ leads through forests.

Hiccup just hoped the Thracian scouts he sent out on the flanks and in the front were doing their job right. He never liked to be dependent of non-Romans, but sometimes men have to do things they don't like. During their journey on the road he had met the three auxiliary commanders.

"What do you think of the commanders?" Hiccup jerked a bit by that sudden question. He looked over to Caelius who looked at him with a questioning gaze.

"I don't really know… The Thracian seems too eager to get into battle, but he seemed like a good man. The Cretan I don't really know… he is the typical Greek arrogant, big mouthed and he just talks too much."

Caelius chuckled at that remark; most men of the Legion didn't really like the Greeks. Hiccup continued.

"The Helvetian on the other hand seemed like a man who follows orders without question or doubt."

"Yeah, to be honest I'm glad we have him on board. His whole unit looked like professionals, not as professional as our boys but still. I prefer having his unit securing our backs than the 20th."

Both laughed at that remark. There was always a little and sometimes a big rivalry between the Legions of the Roman Empire.

The Cohort was marching for four days now and they were going faster than he had anticipated. Hiccup had calculated that they would probably arrive sometime this afternoon in _Manduessedum._

"Sir!" Hiccup looked up and saw the cavalry commander riding towards him. In his hand was a bloodied helmet of roman origin.

"The garrison of the next guard tower had been slaughtered and we found something you need to see."

Hiccup and Caelius followed the commander as fast as they could on their horses, they could barely keep up with him. They arrived at a typical roman guard tower. Several Thracians were gathered around; some were securing the position others were observing the forest for any threats. Suddenly the familiar sweet scent of rotting flesh was carried to him by the wind. Hiccup then saw the stakes which were rammed into the ground. On the top of each stake was a head. Some of the heads wore Roman helmets.

"The whole garrison numbered 15, but only eight were killed and displayed like this. There is no sign of the others."

The Thracian commander said to him. Hiccup just slowly nodded, still looking at the pierced heads. Caelius walked closer to the stakes to get a more detailed view on them.

"Those are Averni from the seventh Auxiliary unit" he stated as the men looked questioning at him, he pointed at a necklace hanging from one of the stakes and said "What? It says AUX VII AVERNI on there." Suddenly they heard a shout in Thracian from inside the tower. Hiccup and the other two officers quickly entered.

The inside was a mess. A table laid broken in half in the corner. Several amphorae were lying smashed on the floor and the whole room was lavished in blood. In one of the corners a Thracian was kneeling over something, he looked up when they entered, raised quickly and saluted. He exchanged a few words with his commander, who turned to Hiccup and said.

"He found what he believes to be proof of druidic activities."

The soldier simply pointed at something on the floor. As Hiccup got nearer he could make out a bloodied curved dagger.

"Those bastards didn't simply kill them, they sacrificed them!" Caelius stated angry.

Hiccup looked to Caelius and said

"We are going to avenge them at a later time. What's important now is to make sure that _Manduessedum_ is safe I'll go with the Thracians and try to arrive there as fast as possible. You will go back to the column and take them to the town. Make sure some Helvetians will be posted here to take over the garrison and they should bury the dead.

Caelius nodded, saluted and rushed outside to get to his horse. Hiccup took the little dagger put it on his belt and rushed to his horse. He began to ride north with the Thracians, hoping that nothing has happened to _Manduessedum_.

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Astrid picked up the basket full of mushrooms; she collected in the morning, and headed to the door of her and her sister's hut.

"I'm going to the market." She said loudly, so her sister could hear it.

"Just don't come back too late:" Feidlimid answered. Astrid left the house, closed the door behind her and began to walk towards the Town.

She and her sister were living a short walk outside of the town in a hut near the forest. After the death of their parents they wandered around southern Britannia for a while. Ultimately they settled down in Manduessedum. That was now one and a half years ago and this little town has become somewhat of a home for both of them. Feidlimid found work in the tannery, it wasn't the most pleasant work but it was an honest one. Astrid just helped however she could. Most times she gathered berries, mushrooms or other fruits which she sold at the market. I wasn't much but every bit helped.

She now left the forest and saw the wall which surrounded the whole town, and headed for the gate. Astrid tried to see which militia men were posted as sentries at the gate. As she came nearer she could see that one of the guards was the one she and her sister called Snotlout, because he always had snot on his face, when he had to do physical work. As he saw her he grinned widely and held his arms out

"Hey sugar nice to see you, wanna have some fun?"

She made a disgusted face and tried to walk through the gate, but Snotlout grabbed her at the wrist and pulled hear near him and state.

"Don't you ignore me dirty Briton!" he held her hand very tight and it began to hurt her. "Don't you and your sister desperately need money, so if you let me have some fun with you, I'll give you some denarii." He said and wiggled his brows at here.

Astrid slapped him and said bluntly "I would rather die than sleep with one of you dirty Romans!"

*Whack* She now was lying in the mud; a hot pain began to grow under her left eye. 'He punched me' she thought. He towered over her and said.

"You fucking whore don't you ever insult a member of the Roman army again! It seems I have to punch good manners into you!"

He raised his fist for another blow.

"SOLDIER, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!"

A sharp commanding voice shouted. Astrid turned her head at the source of the voice and looked directly into a pair of emerald green eyes.

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 **That's it for this time. If you find any typos or grammar errors etc. please let me know.**

 **And before I end this chapter I would like to know if you readers prefer shorter chapters, which are faster to write and publish. Or would you like long chapters which will take a bit longer. So yeah let me know.**

 **Yours Valerius**

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 **Glossary:**

 **The 14** **th** **– Short for the 14** **th** **Legion (Legio XIV Gemina).**

 **Cohort - A roman unit Legion, numbering six centuries (480 men).**

 **Cornovii – The Celts who lived in today's Cornwall**

 **Decurion – A junior officer in a century**

 **Legate - The general of a Legion.**

 **Legion – A roman army, numbering 6 Cohorts (5,000 men all of them are roman citizens).**

 **Londinium – Today's London**

 **Tribune – A roman officer, six of them would serve in each Legion and would receive their orders directly from the legate.**

 **Manduessedum – Today's Mancetter**


	3. First Encounter

~Astrid's POV~

He was sitting on a big black steed and he wore Roman armour. But it wasn't normal armour, it one of an officer or at least a non-commanding officer, however Astrid didn't know which rank it was. After she scanned his figure her eyes began to wander back to his face. He had auburn brown hair which he kept longer than any other Roman she'd ever seen. But it was still fairly short in comparison to the Celtic haircuts. On his cheeks was little stubble from a few days during which he couldn't shave properly. Then her eyes met his once again.

Though he seemed not any older than her his green eyes told a different kind of story. His eyes carried the weight of the world. She could detect that he must have seen some horrible things in his life. But it wasn't coldness she could see, Astrid wasn't sure what it was she made out in his eyes.

Being in her thoughts she didn't realise that the young officer was now standing before her and looking directly at her. Behind his back Snotlout was taken into the city by two of the other riders. The young officer then began to raise a hand and Astrid wasn't sure if she should brace herself for another round of beating. But instead of punching her he was offering her his hand. She look confused at the hands for a few of seconds and then back at his face. He then opened his mouth and said

"I won't hurt you; I just want to help you up."

Astrid frowned at that remark and felt how a familiar anger in her began to grow again.

"I don't need your help ROMAN!"

She said with a trembling but still stern voice. Astrid spat the last word like they were an insult. She could see that her remark seemed to move something inside of him. She stood up by herself and he let his useless hand fall back besides him and said

"Fine, do as you want."

He then turned around and began to walk back to his horse without any other word.

Astrid picked up her basket with the mushrooms, luckily it didn't spill, and continued her walk to the market after she cleaned herself from the mud and dust. During the walk to the market she was in deep thoughts about the young officer. Was she too cold and brusque to him? He seemed sincere in his offer to help. NO she couldn't be sorry; after all he was the enemy…. But why then did she feel this sadness in her chest? Maybe she just needs to get a clear head.

* * *

~Hiccup's POV~

He and the Thracians were racing towards _Manduessedum_ to help the populace if necessary. But after they exited the forest, he could see that _Manduessedum_ was safe and untouched by any harm. So the group of soldiers slowed down and began to ride to what seemed to be the main gate.

While approaching Hiccup could see a young blonde woman walking towards the gate. A few paces before the gate itself she was approached and talked to by a city guard. He was still too far away to hear what they said to each other, but it didn't seem to please the guard. The girl was still walking to the gate but suddenly she was grabbed by the guard and pulled towards him.

Again some words were said which Hiccup couldn't hear, and then the woman slapped the guards in the face. Hiccup just wanted to laugh at that scene but then the guard hit the woman hard in the face with his right fist. She fell on her back in the mud and looked confused and hurt up. He could see that the guard was preparing himself for another blow; and with that Hiccup knew he had to finish this.

"SOLDIER, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!"

He shouted, the guard turned abruptly and starred in the direction of the man who dared to interrupt the punishment he just wanted to deliver. As the guard saw him and his uniform he jumped to attention.

"Sir, this woman slapped a roman soldier; I just was to deliver her punishment."

"She didn't slap a roman soldier, but a mere city guard and she did that in self-defence from my point of view. Didn't your superiors instruct you how to handle the barbaric populace? I bet hitting women was one of the things you weren't supposed to do."

Hiccup dismounted his horse and turned to the Thracian commander.

"Take him and throw him in to a cell. Make sure he won't leave the cell for at least one day."

The commander nodded and said something to his warriors. These took the weapons of the guard and lead hem under watchful eyes inside the city.

Hiccup looked back to the woman who was still lying on the ground and approached her. Only now he took a proper look at her. Only now he could see how beautiful she was, even with the red bruise under her left eye. She wore a traditional Celtic dress which was blue and yellow; it had a square line pattern. Her golden blonde hair, which she wore in a braid, reached with ease to her elbows. Around her neck was a golden necklace he saw on so many Celts. But the most beautiful part on her, were her eyes. They sat like two sky-blue opals over a little snub nose which was sprinkled with a few freckles.

But there was something in those beautiful eyes which made Hiccup unconfutable. It was fear, she was afraid of him. Only now he realised how intimidating he had to look to her, so he raised his hand and held it towards her.

But the girl just starred at it and then she looked back at him with still very fearful eyes.

"I won't hurt you; I just want to help you up."

Hiccup said and he hoped she would understand Latin.

"I don't need your help ROMAN!"

Her voice was filled with fear, but also with anger. Hiccup just looked at her surprised for two seconds. Then he lowered his hand and said.

"Fine, do as you want."

He turned around and walked back to his horse. He was angry, but not at the girl. He was angry at himself. Because for the first time since he became an officer, he could see how he had changed since he departed from home. Some months ago he never could have imagined that he would put fear in the eyes of a woman.

He mounted his horse again and began to enter the city, in the distance he could see the blonde beauty walking towards the market place.

* * *

~Time skip of several hours~

~Hiccup's POV~

Hiccup was inspecting the militia which was standing in attention before him. They looked like a bunch of clowns. Most of the men were missing some piece of equipment like a helmet, sword, shield or some pieces of the armour. All of the metal parts were covered in orange rust. It was a wonder that _Manduessedum_ hasn't been already attacked and conquered by the rebels. Those men standing before him couldn't match an army; Hiccup sincerely doubted that they could defeat an army of olds and women.

"We have a lot of work to do."

A familiar voice said, Hiccup turned his head and saw Caelius who was walking towards him.

"It seems so; we should start to train them as soon as possible. Take ten of our men and begin training them and don't be too easy on them. Take also some of the Thracians so that we can train a little cavalry force."

Caelius agreed and went on with his duties. Hiccup went back to the fort the _Cohort_ had built outside the city. It was big enough to inhabit the whole cohort and it had enough free space to take in a few hundred refugees. It was shielded by a palisade wall which was three men high and the whole Encampment was surrounded by a deep trench, in which sharp and pointy sticks were placed to form a defensive position. At each corner of the fort stood a wooden guard tower which was double the size of the palisade wall.

The Auxiliary Forces had also built their own Fort, which were formidable defended as well as the Roman one. The longer Hiccup had to work with the three commanders the bigger grew his respect for them. They all appeared to be experts in what they were doing.

Hiccup had also met the leader of the city council, who was so happy to see a real Roman military force that he declared to hold a feast the next day. Hiccup didn't think highly of the council leader, he was in his opinion just an old fart who managed to bribe his way up to the position of mayor.

As Hiccup was approaching the Fort his thoughts went back to the blonde girl, who he had met on his first day on _Manduessedum_. He didn't know why but he just couldn't get her out of his thoughts.

~Three days later~

~Astrid's POV~

Astrid helped the whole day to prepare the feast which will be held this evening. She, Feidlimid and the other townswomen prepared all the food and beverage. They made sure there would be enough for all. Several fireplaces were prepared in the town square to prepare all the food and around them were placed big long tables so that most of the Town could sit and feast in the square.

During the whole preparation Astrid couldn't get the roman, with the auburn hair, out of her thoughts. She couldn't quite figure out why, because of that she was distracted all the time. Her sister Feidlimid could see that something was off with Astrid, but she wasn't yet able to ask Astrid properly because of all the feast preparations. Astrid was thankful about that, then the last thing she needed was an interrogation by her big sister.

After several ours Astrid got to the conclusion that she was too harsh to the Roman. Somehow she needed to apologize to him, luckily she could speak Latin sufficiently for such an occasion, but the bigger problem was how to get to him. He passed the last two days in the Roman Fort or on the exercise field and there was no way that she could gain access to those military facilities. Or was there?...

* * *

~Several hours later~

~Astrid's POV~

Astrid was walking through the now dark town towards the main gate. While walking she was thinking about the whole evening and all that had happened.

The whole feast was a full success; everyone seemed to enjoy the food and beverages. Astrid and her sister were seated near one of the big fires and both of them had a great night, even though they couldn't drink too much alcohol because they will have to work on the next day.

From the place Astrid was seated she could see the auburn Roman, who was seated with his back to her, so he couldn't see her. He didn't seem interested in the feast nor in all the people seated beside him. The only person he spoke to during the feast was the centurion, they seemed like good friends. After some time he said something to the mayor and left the market square.

As Astrid was only a short distance from the Main gate she could see someone sitting on the wall. It was very dark and the person was sitting with the back to her and was only lighted by little torch light. But Astrid could see a red cloak and hear the person mumble something in Latin.

Now she was curious, so she sneaked up the stairs next to the gate. As she was high enough Astrid took a glance at the man. It was the auburn Roman, he was sitting on the wall facing the field lying ahead of the wall and his legs were dangling in the air. He was holding some piece of paper in his hands which he seemed to read over and over again and while doing this he was mumbling something. It sounded like "Stupid Rome", now she wanted to know for sure.

"It seems that the gods have given me a chance to redeem myself." She thought.

Astrid slowly walked towards the sitting man and stopped only when she was a pace behind him, then she reached out and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

* * *

~Some Minutes before~

~Hiccup's POV~

Hiccup didn't like big gatherings of people, he never had. He always preferred to be alone. So after the feast started today he only remained there so he wouldn't insult the hospitality of the town council. But after a while, which felt like an eternity,

Hiccup excused himself and wandered off. He walked aimlessly through the city until he reached the city gate. He then saw a staircase which he climbed up and he sat down on the wall to watch the stars.

He sat there for a while but then he took out the letter his father had sent him and reread it for the millionth time. He read it over and over again and the more he read it he began to curse.

"Stupid Dad, stupid Heatheratia, stupid Senate, stupid Life, stupid City and stupid Rome with its stupid politics."

Hiccup suddenly felt something tapping his shoulder and he jumped from surprise and let out a girly scream. Because of the little jump he did, he nearly fell down the wall and barely managed to hold on to the edge of it. He turned angry at the intruder who almost killed him. But who he then saw made him freeze in surprise.

He was looking directly in the face of the blonde girl which refused his help and snarled at him a couple of days ago. But now there was no anger or fear in her big blue eyes, only amusement.

"Is the big, strong and brave Roman soldier afraid of a harmless little Celtic girl?" She asked with an innocent voice, while trying not to grin. Hiccup felt how a blush began to creep up his neck.

"There is nothing out there that could scare a Tribune of the Roman Army." He stated as dramatically as he could while he gesticulated nervously and wild with his arms. As he had finished talking he looked at her and saw only how she burst into loud laughter. After she calmed down a bit, she leaned in and asked him:

"So tell my great Roman Tribune, why did you jump and scream like a helpless maiden then?"

"Well I jumped…. I jumped because a cold breeze hit me right when you tapped my shoulder." He stated.

"Really? A cold breeze…. You Romans are all just too soft for this land" she stated.

"We're not soft." Hiccup said while still having a blush "Why did you do it anyways?" he asked.

The blonde girl shrugged her grin fading away "I was walking home, but then I saw someone sitting on the wall and I was curious. Then as I saw it was you I wanted to sort of apologize to you." She said. Hiccup was stunned

"Apologize? You want to apologize to me? A Briton wants to apologize to a Roman…"

She glared at him "Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it; I just forgot that you're the enemy, but you had to remind me of it."

"Enemy? Since when do enemies offer their help to a stranger? I just wanted to help." he answered.

"You're a Roman, so you're the enemy. You invaded our land, slaughtered and enslaved our people!" The blonde girl said, now getting louder and angrier.

"I did no such thing. I wasn't even born yet when the invasion started, neither were you. I never slaughtered anyone, the only ones I killed were warriors which attacked us, and I did it out of necessity, not because of pleasure. I don't care about the politics surrounding the occupation; the only thing I care about is to keep my men alive." He answered her angry himself.

Her eyes softened a bit. She looked down to her feet and let out a sigh "I'm sorry. I'm just not used to have a normal conversation with a Roman. My whole life I was told that you're the enemy and you're only out to destroy or enslave us. You were the first Roman to be nice to me, that's why I wanted to apologize to you."

Hiccup looked at her for a few seconds.

"Apology accepted." He said to her.

The blonde girl had a short expression of surprise, but then she said. "Thank you." And she gave him another smile. Hiccup felt a warm feeling inside of him as she gave him her smile. He said "You're welcome." with one of his goofy grins.

They stood there smiling at each other for a short moment, until the blonde girl said "It's going to be late, I better be on my way" and proceeded to walk back to the staircase.

"Wait! I don't even know what your name is..." Hiccup shouted after her.

She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at him with a bit of hesitation, but then she said finally "You can call me Astrid." And with that she left.

Hiccup stood on top of the wall for another several minutes, but then he decided to walk back to the Encampment to rest in his tent. During the way back he thought about the whole conversation he had with Astrid. As he reached his tent he undressed put the armour on the rack and went to bed. As his mind slipped into sleep his thoughts were still with the blonde girl named Astrid.

* * *

~Meanwhile~

A cloaked shadow is sneaking through the forest, the branches stroke over his dark cloak. On his belt was a curved sickle which Druids used to cut branches, plants or herbs. As the dark figure reached the end of the forest it stopped. The figure observed the city from the outside.

"Let's see if we can find a fitting sacrifice in there.

The figure said with a grin, and proceeded to walk back into the shadows of the forest.

* * *

 **Glossary:**

 **The 14** **th** **– Short for the 14** **th** **Legion (Legio XIV Gemina).**

 **Cohort - A roman unit Legion, numbering six centuries (480 men).**

 **Cornovii – The Celts who lived in today's Cornwall**

 **Decurion – A junior officer in a century**

 **Druid – A sort of Celtic Shaman living in ancient Britain**

 **Legate - The general of a Legion.**

 **Legion – A roman army, numbering 6 Cohorts (5,000 men all of them are roman citizens).**

 **Londinium – Today's London**

 **Tribune – A roman officer, six of them would serve in each Legion and would receive their orders directly from the legate.**

 **Manduessedum – Today's Mancetter**


End file.
